List of disparaging nicknames for settlements in the United States

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This is a list of disparaging nicknames for settlements in the United States, including states, cities, towns, universities and schools. These pejorative nicknames may be coined for a variety of reasons. Some may be a straightforward desire to slander or disparage the city, while others may be examples of self-deprecating humor. While residents of the cities may see such nicknames as offensive, they may also be reclaimed as positive, even affectionate terms. Still other nicknames may simultaneously serve to attack the city from the outside and as a point of pride for its residents, especially those criticizing local politics.[a]

Etymology of these terms varies. Some are simple portmanteaus of the city name and profanity; others may reference a specific aspect of the city, such as an unfortunate incident in its past.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

States, territories and federal districts[edit]

Cities and towns[edit]

Alabama[edit]

Alaska[edit]

California[edit]

Colorado[edit]

Illinois[edit]

Indiana[edit]

Kansas[edit]

Louisiana[edit]

Maryland[edit]

Massachusetts[edit]

Nevada[edit]

New Hampshire[edit]

New Jersey[edit]

New Mexico[edit]

New York[edit]

North Carolina[edit]

North Dakota[edit]

Ohio[edit]

Oregon[edit]

Pennsylvania[edit]

Texas[edit]

Utah[edit]

Vermont[edit]

Washington[edit]

Wisconsin[edit]

Universities[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ For example, a facetious People's Republic moniker
  2. ^ Referring to its denizens as such, meaning "homosexual" and "mentally ill"
  3. ^ Often used by fans of Ohio State University and its athletic program, see Michigan-Ohio State rivalry
  4. ^ A play on Birmingham's more positive nickname, "The Magic City"
  5. ^ "San Fran," referring to the city + "psycho," referring to its love of dextromethamphetamine, the city's various other mental conditions and clinically insane behaviors. By covert prestige, this can be seen as praising the city.
  6. ^ Evocative of Siberia and its climate
  7. ^ Comparing violence in Chicago to that of Iraq
  8. ^ This was coined as a disparaging term, but is largely free of negative connotations today.
  9. ^ A reference to a string of murders in Aberdeen in the early 20th century

References[edit]

  1. ^ "'Fruits and nuts' comment lands Michigan Republican in hot water as alleged gay slur". mlive. March 12, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Culpepper, Chuck (2016-11-22). "At Ohio State, 'Michigan' is pronounced 'That State Up North'". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ "Who says Washington is "Hollywood for ugly people"?: We trace a cliche back to its origins". The Washington Post. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  4. ^ Eberstadt, Nicholas. "Why babies die in D.C - District of Columbia" Archived 2005-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, Public Interest, Spring 1994. Accessed June 13, 2007. "Across the country and around the world, Washington is notorious as the "murder capital of America" -- the city with the highest homicide rate of any major U.S. urban center."
  5. ^ News-Miner, Dermot Cole/ cole@newsminer com Fairbanks Daily (2011-09-25). "'Los Anchorage' may seem a world apart, but it's not alien territory". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  6. ^ a b "Preston: Anchorage-Fairbanks rivals biggest in-state rivalries". ESPN.com. 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  7. ^ a b c d e "U.S. City Motto & Moniker List". Tagline Guru. The Byline Group. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  8. ^ Foldvary, Fred E. (9 January 2007). "The People's Republic of Berkeley". The Progress Report. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Unconventional ways to work out during your summer in Berkeley". The Daily Californian. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  10. ^ Fitch, Mike. "Growing Pains: Thirty Years in the History of Davis" Archived 2012-07-22 at the Wayback Machine Chapter Ten: The Political Culture of Davis, Davis, California. "Another of the city's critics was a railroad executive who couldn't hide his annoyance when officials asked his company in the early 1990s to contribute up to $1,000 for a planning project the city was undertaking next to the railroad tracks. "This letter is tantamount to railroad robbery. However, since we are forced to live with the People's Republic of Davis, we will accede to your demands in the interest of the commune welfare," the executive wrote in response, enclosing a check for $500."
  11. ^ Walworth, Carolyn (2015-03-25). "Paly school board rep: 'The sorrows of young Palo Altans'". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  12. ^ Judge weighs lawyer's lawsuit: Plan to redevelop downtown challenged, by Will Oremus, Redwood City Daily News. Quote page 7, paragraph #3, '... for a city that has been saddled with the moniker "Deadwood City" in the past.'
  13. ^ Jorgensen, Eddie (9 June 2005). "No more Suckramento". Sacramento News & Review. Retrieved 3 January 2015. There was a short period during the 1990s when our great city deserved the moniker "Suckramento"—the only town where White Zombie could fill Arco Arena, and you could still find tickets available to Paul McCartney on the day of the show.
  14. ^ Tickle, Glen (2015-03-25). "San Franshitsco, An Interactive Map That Displays Reports of Public Human Feces Complete With Pictures". Laughing Squid. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  15. ^ Roane, Kit R. (16 September 1996). "Santa Monica Tries to Curb Charity to Homeless". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  16. ^ Cart, Julie (7 September 2002). "Boulder: Soiled and Seething". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  17. ^ Parker, Alex (5 January 2014). "Chicago Extreme Cold: City Dubbed 'Chiberia' as Dangerous Weather Moves In". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  18. ^ India-no-place No More,Time Magazine, June 11, 1984, accessed July 27, 2012"
  19. ^ Siegel, Fred; Smith, Van (2001). "Can Mayor O'Malley Save Ailing Baltimore?". City Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  20. ^ a b Foxworth, Rodney (3 May 2005). "O'Malley, Ehrlich and Steele Get Kudos, But Blacks Don't Benefit". Baltimore Chronicle. Retrieved 25 January 2015. Baltimore [is] casually referred to by many of its denizens as either 'Harm City' or 'the City that Bleeds' (as opposed to the government-preferred 'Charm City' and 'the City that Reads')
  21. ^ Connery, William (May 2002). "Maryland's Mob Town Supplied Links Through Rail and Fort". The Washington Times. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  22. ^ Smith, Van. "Mob Rules". Baltimore City Paper. October 6, 2004. URL retrieved on January 27, 2007. Archived July 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Paley, Amit R. (15 July 2004). "Takoma Park Council Backs Same-Sex Unions". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  24. ^ "Cambridge Officials Put a Stop to Boy Scout Drive to Aid Troops in Iraq". Fox News. 16 November 2007. Archived from the original on 3 November 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  25. ^ Affordable towns near Boston for would-be home buyers, by David Valdes Greenwood. Boston Phoenix, accessed April 4, 2008. Archived December 24, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ "Origins of the Phrase Wormtown". WorcesterMass.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  27. ^ "By What Other Names Has Las Vegas Been Known?". Las Vegas Advisor. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  28. ^ Rick Watrous (June 17, 2011). "Concord—City in a Coma no longer". Concord Patch. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  29. ^ "Annual ArtsCAP Event Features Author Hisani Dubose". Atlantic Highlands Herald. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2015. ...Celebrate ArtsCAP's accomplishments in promoting the arts in Asbury Park and ... help plan further blossoming of art and culture in Dark City.
  30. ^ Sabato, Larry J. (1998). "Jesse Jackson's 'Hymietown' Remark – 1984". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  31. ^ Flannigan, Jenna; Miscone, Michael (18 January 2011). "A history of NYC nicknames". Time Out. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  32. ^ Velsey, Kim (10 October 2012). "Andrew Sullivan Hates Miserable, Money Sucking "New York Shitty"". New York Observer. Retrieved 3 January 2015. In a Daily Beast post written today—entitled, what else? "New York Shitty"—Mr. Sullivan tells us just how much he hates this horrible city.
  33. ^ 15 July 1928, New York Times, pg. RE1:Urging Staten Island operators to be cautious about pricing their realty, W. Burke Harmon, President of the Harmon National Real Estate Corporation, yesterday declared that sudden price increases on properties at this time might well result in halting the normal development of what he calls "this forgotten borough that has suddenly stepped into the limelight."
  34. ^ Mittel Jr., David A. (June 4, 2008). "The city that God Forgot". The Providence Journal. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  35. ^ Johnson, James; Porter, Susan (6 September 2007). "FYV vs. FAY". Fayetteville Free Weekly. Fayetteville, Arkansas. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  36. ^ Rose, Lacy (25 July 2005). "Not Greensboring Anymore". Forbes. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  37. ^ Shute, Megan (2023-03-14). "Explore The Best Natural Wonders Our Country Has To Offer During National Park Week 2024". OnlyInYourState®. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  38. ^ Souther, J. Mark (3 October 2017). "From "The Mistake On The Lake" To "Defend Together": The Long (And Amusing) History Of Trying To Rebrand Cleveland". Belt Magazine.
  39. ^ Spotleson, Bruce (18 April 2011). "New museum revives Las Vegas' mob history". Vegas Inc. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  40. ^ McCall, William (19 August 2003). "Portland police, activists get ready for Bush's visit". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  41. ^ Silverstein, Michael (1990). The Environmental Factor: Its Impact on the Future of the World Economy and Your Investments. Longman Financial Services Publishing. ISBN 0884629112. OCLC 20015054. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  42. ^ Gallma, James Matthew (2000). Receiving Erin's Children: Philadelphia, Liverpool, and the Irish Famine. University of North Carolina Press. p. 258. ISBN 0807825344. OCLC 247713435. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  43. ^ Nazaryan, Alexander (March 12, 2014). "The Streets of Killadelphia". Newsweek. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  44. ^ Breen, Mike (9 October 2013). "Hate, with a Passion". Cincinnati CityBeat. Retrieved 3 January 2014. But what followed was a sickeningly hypnotic barrage of pure Twitter hatred, born from passion but spiraling out of control. There were the heated defensive posts that painted Pittsburgh — sorry, "Shittsburgh," as it was christened by many Reds fans that night — as a hellhole full of inbred brutes
  45. ^ "Koe Wetzel 'fittingly' concludes Road to Hell Paso with shows in Lubbock and El Paso". KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com. 2023-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  46. ^ "Bayous and Waterways". Citizens' Environmental Coalition. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  47. ^ ""Smog Lake City": The History of Utah's Poor Air Quality". Central Wasatch Commission. 2024-04-17. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  48. ^ Hafner, Haleigh (2022-03-14). "Why Salt Lake City, UT Has Some of the World's Worst Air Quality and What We Can Do to Fix It". SnowBrains. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  49. ^ Nichols, John (15 August 2005). "Being Like Bernie". The Nation. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  50. ^ Gibson, Elizabeth (2001). Outlaw Tales of Washington. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 0762711507. OCLC 47922779.
  51. ^ "'Find Another University' no more: Final Four helps FAU shed moniker". WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm. 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  52. ^ Denham, Ryan (2015-11-16). "The controversy behind Illinois State's evolving motto". Illinois State University News.
  53. ^ Desk, Photos (2024-03-09). "Photo gallery: Paint Crew signs". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  54. ^ "Daily Kent Stater 6 February 2012 — Daily Kent Stater Digital Archive". dks.library.kent.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  55. ^ "Fairleigh Dickinson's epic upset over 'Purdon't' sets basketball world ablaze". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  56. ^ "Purdue, 24; Franklin, 0: Franklin Players Gave "Boiler Makers" Only Fair Practice". The Indianapolis Journal. 1901-09-29. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  57. ^ a b Seo, Diane (1995-12-27). "Growing Asian Enrollment Redefines UC Campuses : Education: Their influence has increased with visibility. But affirmative action rollback fuels backlash fear". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  58. ^ "What Your UC Says About You (Just Kidding, but not really)". The MC SUN - MCHS. 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  59. ^ Breall, Alessandra (2023-11-07). "Six Ways To Make Friends on Campus and Counter the "UC Socially Dead" Narrative". The Triton. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  60. ^ Bucelewicz, Haley. "Is UMass still "ZooMass"?". Amherst Wire. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  61. ^ Horstman, Hunter; Hortsman, Hunter (2019-06-20). "University of no football?". UNF Spinnaker. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  62. ^ Patrick, J. D. "If They're Chokelahoma, What Does That Make You?!". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  63. ^ Thornton, Paul (2019-03-23). "Readers React: To readers, USC is once again the 'University of Spoiled Children'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  64. ^ Day, Nellie (2008-05-30). "How to Insult a USC Trojan". SportsRec. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
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